471.
Anyone can see, if he is able in his thinking to raise his reason above the level of the senses, that life cannot be created. For what is life but the activity of love and wisdom in the inmost? And these
are in God, and are God. This life too can be called the life force itself. Anyone seeing this can also see that that life cannot be copied into any man, except together with love and wisdom. Does
anyone, can anyone deny that all the good of love and all the truth of wisdom are from God alone, and that in so far as a person receives these from God, so far does he have life from God and is called
born of God, that is, regenerated? Then by contraries, in so far as anyone does not receive love and wisdom, or what is much the same, charity and faith, so far is he unable to receive life from God,
which is essentially life, but only from hell. This is nothing but an inversion of life and is known as spiritual death.